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Author
Topic: work out regime question (Read 4459 times)

i just noticed at the gym today that i am getting kinda too bulky for my size (5.8 at 160lb on a smallish frame). i know that i should now concentrate more on toning than bulking up by doing more lighter reps than heavy fewer reps. however, i still want to get stronger and be able to lift heavier weights without getting bulkier,,, what kind of exercise should I do? this is my current exercise routine that i have been following for the past three months.http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw39.htmthis really works!!!! or it could be the testosterone gel,,

are smaller size people just made to be not able to lift heavier weights without getting bulkier?

Maybe GSOGymRat will have answers for you, but why don't you ask a professional trainer at your gym? Each person is different, and the goals are different. You want to get stronger but stay toned, right?

i just noticed at the gym today that i am getting kinda too bulky for my size (5.8 at 160lb on a smallish frame). i know that i should now concentrate more on toning than bulking up by doing more lighter reps than heavy fewer reps. however, i still want to get stronger and be able to lift heavier weights without getting bulkier,,, what kind of exercise should I do? this is my current exercise routine that i have been following for the past three months.http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw39.htmthis really works!!!! or it could be the testosterone gel,,

are smaller size people just made to be not able to lift heavier weights without getting bulkier?

I am exactly your height and weight. So that's not the only thing going on here.

I am short (5.8"), male, very muscular, and only weigh 166#. So, I think the answer to your last question is "No." Though you won't find the body of a linebacker miniaturized on a shorter lighter person, the other body types, like exto- or mesomorphs, are represented in all heights and weights. FYI: I am a short mesomorph. I really don't know my fat ratio, maybe 9%? Less? My waist is 31", three inches more than at 18 yrs, and currently with the same body weight.

I have lifted weights nearly non-stop for 33 years. None of my lifting ideas are original or new. I disagree with most of what is said about weight/strength training. The main causes of confusion and poor advice are getting lost in words and making simple processes sound complex. There is a lot of money made in "training" so making it seem more complicated than it is, this "mystique" has a certain economic benefit to some (if that borders on paranoia, so be it).

The main reason to exercise is improve the cardiovascular system, lose excess fat, and gain muscle. Strength and muscle size are synonymous. To be stronger one must gain grow additional muscle.

What is "bulk"? The thing you didn't like in the gym mirror...Fat? Water? Muscle? Weight? So let's not even use the word. Same for "toning", it is completely vague. If you want to reduce fat but be more lean than huge, I would suggest swimming, gymnastics, and running. If the "bulk" you dislike is fat, then even swimming will gain you some muscle, defined at its best. Swimming is the safest choice. When a person loses fitness they lose some muscle. Muscle doesn't go out of shape, it simply disappears. Often fat increases at the same time. The result is a look that fat and muscle may have "become" or "replaced" the other. That is impossible. Build muscle, and some fat will be lost everywhere in your body. A runner, even a New Years Resolution type of runner (working hard a couple months) will not have a fat stomach for long. She/he doesn't need to do situps to rid her/himself of excess belly fat. Outside of shot-put and Sumu wrestling, athleticism and fat seem to be mortal foes.

"Weight" control ought to be called "Fat control". Even the word "diet" becomes what you don't consume (and metabolize), not that which you do.

Our diets consist of what we EAT.

Diets do work. People don't follow them.

Weight is mostly the combined total of fluids, fat, muscle, bone, and skin. Obsessing on "weight" instead of the actual breakdown including FAT is not helpful. Fat can be measured a number of ways. It is also quite visible (even it's varying consistency, as those of us with LIPO here can attest). Muscle is dense and heavy. So, why use weight as a measure?

It is impossible to gain muscle without burning calories, using your cardio system, and losing some amount of excess fat. Muscle only grows through being strained. When you see blood rushing to a muscle (blushing), it's delivering isotopes, with the help of your heart and lungs. New muscle does not grow simply from utilization, which is why athletes and laborers benefit from strength training, despite difficult regular physical sports or work regimens.

Lift heavy weights (a resistance that you cannot correctly control for more than 14-18 repetitions without rest), with proper breathing (change direction of motion, change direction with lungs) and rhythm (release contractions 1/2 speed). Hold all contractions for a slow "2 count"---isometrics work and are painful enough to see why everyone avoids this!

Just one set to exhaustion. Give each strained (exercised) muscle the next day off. Repeat. It is very efficient. Little time at the gym and benefits begin with just a third workout weekly.

High reps if you want, but many sets of low weights (low resistance) won't grow muscle on all but the very ill or geriatric. For an ill person, weights can be wonderfully effective, including with people beyond 75 years of age (double their strength in a few weeks). I recommend strength training for weak people (old, sick, injured, or all three), with proper training/supervision. This can make certain illnesses a little less daunting. It's not just about sex appeal.

A muscle is as strong as it's size. A particular Woman with a muscle the same size as a particular Male's has the same strength. The rest is psychosocial ("girls are weak" B/S). The average male has more muscle than the average female---that's different.

An obese person does not look much like a muscular person, and so concerns about final appearance should not be of great concern. Effective exercise is hard, not time-consuming. No one wakes up with a whole new body overnight.

Woman retain much more water, and need much more fat (as percentage) than men, but otherwise I don't believe in gender-based strength-training.

Megasept has it right. The only way you are going to maintain your strength while decreasing your size is reducing your body fat. It is very difficult to gain muscle strength and lose fat at the same time. This is why bodybuilders workout in a cycle: several months lifting progressively heavier weight, eating a lot and gaining muscle mass then several months of maintaining the lifting weight, doing cardio, eating less and losing fat. Professional bodybuilders will go from looking like fat linebackers to superlean.

ooohhh i c,, i get it,, thanks.... just one problem i have right now is that my appetite is sooooo strong.... especially those days when i work out in the morning, i am ready to be eating all day long, anything that seems like food.

hey gymrat, i noticed that you live in weho,,, do you work out at the 24 hr fitness there?

Megasept has it right. The only way you are going to maintain your strength while decreasing your size is reducing your body fat. It is very difficult to gain muscle strength and lose fat at the same time.

judging from your picture you're scary-well-built. I don't wanna go mano a mano with you (I think you left "pee to the sea El Segundo, so I am safe, right?) And who doesn't like being told "I am right.", but...

I never said it is difficult to gain muscle while losing fat. My example with the (fat) new runner, is that a vigorous workout (high cardio) with higher resistance WILL BURN FAT.Maybe I am missing some nuance in your example, but I believe this basic statement holds.

I guess I didn't read your post closely enough. What I was trying to point out was "a muscle is as strong as it's size" and if he wants to maintain the strength while losing size, what he calls "bulk", fat is the thing he is going to have to get rid of.